In this episode the wigs discuss a new police powers decision, Julie Bugmy v NSW Director of Public Prosecutions 2024 NSWCA 70, a recent decision of the NSW Court of Appeal. It concerns the law applicable when police arrest a person believed to have breached a condition of a grant of bail. Wig Stephen Lawrence actually appeared in the matter, instructed by his old employer the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT way back when it began in 2022 in the local court in Broken Hill before Magistrate Trad and the episode begins with a re-enactment of Stephen's short cross-examination of the main witness. The issues focused on in the cross-examination proved to be decisive in the appeal and concerned the legal requirements on police to consider certain circumstances and alternatives to arrest before arresting a person for breach of bail. 

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In March this year, the Wigs were back to record a live show at the Reasonable Cause Continuing Professional Development Conference. 

The topic was Ethics for Defence Lawyers and the panel discussion you are about to hear examined the basis of ethical obligations, the nature of the fiduciary obligations lawyers have, common ethical breaches, some of the reasons why they occur, and how lawyers should respond to complaints.

Reasonable Cause CPD gives 100% of its net profit to Reasonable Cause Inc., a charity that focuses on assisting disadvantaged young Cambodians to advance their education. 

Friend of The Wigs Mark Dennis SC runs Reasonable Cause and The Wigs are always happy to assist a very reasonable cause by donating their time. More info on reasonable cause at rccpd.net.au.

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In this episode, the wigs tackle a bill that passed the federal parliament recently and very substantially amended the part of the Criminal Code 1995 that creates crimes related to engaging in bribery in foreign countries. The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Bill 2023 passed the Senate on 29 February 2024. These laws implement Australia's international commitments to combat foreign bribery and impose substantial penalties on individuals and companies who engage in bribery while engaging in business overseas. The Wigs analyse the policy rationales for the laws, the elements, and some of the defences. The discussion also touches on some recent Australian prosecutions for this conduct.

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In this episode recorded on 19 December 2023, the wigs analyse the decision of the High Court in NZYQ v Minister for Immigration 2023 HCA 37, one of the most important public law decisions in recent decades which was handed down on 28 November 2023. In the decision, the court unanimously overturned an earlier decision in Al-Kateb. It held that long-standing constitutional principles forbid indefinite detention of non-citizens who cannot be removed from Australia. The judgment has been massively controversial and the federal parliament legislated in December last year in response to it to create a system of monitoring and regulation applying to those persons affected directly by the decision. We do apologise for the delay in releasing the episode but we hope it's still an interesting and useful discussion of one of the most important principles in Australian constitutional law, that detention is prima facie punitive and can generally only be imposed by a court following an adjudication of guilt.

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In this Wigs Extra Episode we present something a little unusual: a speech that Wig Emmanuel Kerkyasharian gave to the Legal Studies Association. 

Asked to speak about basic legal concepts in the context of the Legal Studies Syllabus, Emmanuel couldn’t resist the temptation to go philosophical, and presented a speech about what law is, and how it can be conceptualised as a meme. 

Many thanks to the LSA for sharing this recording with us and allowing us to present it to you.  

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Welcome back to the Wigs for a brand new year! We have been on an extended summer break and hope you have enjoyed a great break too. In this episode,
recorded at the end of last year, The Wigs examine a recent decision of NSW District Court Judge Newlinds in R v Martinez. The judgment has already been the subject of much media attention and concerns a successful costs application made by Martinez following their acquittal on four charges of sexual assault. The judge, in awarding a costs certificate to the accused, made scathing criticisms of the Director of Public Prosecutions and raised concerns that in sexual offence matters the DPP is applying a surreptitious and improper policy under which sexual offences are prosecuted without proper regard to the strength of the Crown case. The DPP responded furiously to the judgment publicly stating a Judicial Commission complaint would be made against Judge Newlinds. The case raises unusual factual matters and interesting legal and policy matters. Now,

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This week we are delighted to have as a guest of the Wigs, David Buchanan SC. David is a quiet and unassuming legend of the criminal law in NSW.  Admitted to legal practice in 1975 and then called to the Bar in 1977, in the decades between then and now he has not wearied nor lost his zeal and professional dedication. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 1997 and has almost retired after a long career of practising as both a prosecutor and defence counsel in NSW. He has been a champion of social justice, particularly in his work for, and in, the gay and lesbian community and in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic both in Australia and overseas. In this interview with Wig Felicity Graham, David shares his personal insights, reflects on his journey through the law, the influences on him, some of his key cases and his tips for surviving and thriving as a criminal law practitioner today. Enjoy the show!

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In this episode the wigs discuss Vanderstock and Victoria a very fiscally important recent decision of the High Court of Australia. The constitution reserves to the federal government the power to levy excises, essentially taxes on goods. The issue in Vanderstock was whether the Victorian government's electric vehicle levy, charged to owners per km of use was in fact an excise and therefore constitutionally invalid. Victoria said no, the Cth and Vanderstock said yes. In finding the levy invalid the majority departed from decades of case law and potentially fundamentally altered the fiscal balance across the federation. 

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This week Stephen sits down for a long-form chat with Bri Lee, author of the best selling memoir Eggshell Skull which details Bri's work as an associate in the Queensland District Court and her experience as a complainant survivor in the criminal justice system.

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This week the panel look at a truly unusual and interesting decision from Justice Wigney of the Federal Court which involved a serving federal judge being ordered to pay damages for wrongfully imprisoning a man he jailed for contempt of court. 

Stradford (a pseudonym) v Judge Vasta 2023 FCA 1020 has already had massive ramifications. 

Some judges have reportedly refused to sit since it was handed down, calls for a standing federal judicial commission to investigate judicial misconduct have been renewed and the decision has been appealed by multiple parties setting the stage for a final determination of the limits of judicial immunity at common law. 

The judgment of Justice Wigney delved into the fascinating question of when a judge can be sued for conduct on the bench and involved the surveying of hundreds of years of case law on point. 

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